


Duality

by TheMightyFlynn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Introspection, M/M, Pining Draco Malfoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:21:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21629773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMightyFlynn/pseuds/TheMightyFlynn
Summary: Harry and Draco reflect privately back on their relationship and why they are so good together.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69
Collections: Harry/Draco Owlpost 2019





	Duality

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kikimay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kikimay/gifts).



> kikimay, I really liked your prompts! I mixed one of your prompts with some of your likes. I hope you like it! :)

Light shone brightly through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the library in Malfoy Manor. It highlighted the glass cases scattered throughout the room, but that was not what Harry focussed on. Seated in the sunlight by the windows, Draco's head was bent over whichever new manuscript he had collected this time from Merlin-knows-where. A warmth spread through Harry that had nothing to do with the sunlight.

There was something different about Draco. In many ways, it was indefinable, but in others… Harry smiled.

Draco was a man of contrasts. Raised in the pure-blood traditions, he had been, well, a right bastard when he was young, if Harry was to tell the truth. That had been many years ago, however. It had been a long time since Draco had held to any of the traditions of his parents.

Harry let out a soft sigh. Draco's parents. It was Lucius and Narcissa who had shaped his entire public image, from the moment of his birth up until his early twenties. The _Dark_ family. The _Death Eaters_. The _irredeemable purists_. They would have things their way, and they would destroy anyone who opposed them. Not Draco, however. Sure, he had been a follower of that philosophy in his younger years. Everyone knew about the Dark Mark his long sleeves covered, and the deeds he had committed. But…

Again, it was the indefinable _something_ about him that pulled Harry up. He _had been_ Dark, yes. That was undeniable. But that was not the man Harry knew. The man Harry knew was kind, and generous, and intelligent. He was quiet and reserved in public, but louder and much more outgoing in private, chasing their grandchildren around the grounds of the Manor. He didn't put up with any of Harry's shit, and was stubborn as hell when he thought he was right, which was almost all the time. Draco had worked hard on dispelling that image from his family name. He had not succeeded as well as he had first hoped, but there were people who believed that he had changed. Or, rather, had not been as bad as the rumours had claimed in the first place.

It was these contracts that had attracted Harry to him in the first place. There had been public outcry at first, of course. How _dare_ someone as Dark as a Malfoy even consider touching the Ministry's Golden Boy? The horror! It must be trickery of some kind! _Harry Potter_ wouldn't dare to be seen in public with someone like him!

Harry had ignored them all. He had his own reasons for wanting to be with Draco, and he had made none of them public. There was a goodness to him that he showed to very few people. The façade he held up in public was what everyone judged him off, and Harry was proud to say that he was one of privileged few who got to see through it.

*~*  


The side of Draco's lips quirked slightly as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He knew he was running a little late, but this new manuscript was one of the most fascinating in his collection. It had only arrived that morning from Chile, and he had immediately sequestered himself away in his library to begin studying it.

Harry knew that he did not like to be disturbed while in his library, and often hovered right on the edge of the doorway to the hall, his fingers twitching as though he wanted to reach out and touch the glass cases and books that lined the walls. Not that Draco could blame him, as he knew he had one of the most remarkable collections in wizarding Britain. He breathed out a quiet breath as his focus shifted more towards Harry than his manuscript.

Twenty-eight years it had been since their marriage had sent shockwaves through the press. And thirty-three since their relationship had become public knowledge. It hadn't been an easy road to get to where they were, but it had been worth it, in Draco's opinion.

He had actually been only twenty-one when he had first recognised the emotions that Harry caused him to feel. It was rather young, in his opinion, for someone to find the person they wished to spend the rest of their life with. Harry, however, had been… well. Harry had been _Harry_.

The Ministry's walking publicity stunt had strutted around with his head high, showing all who wanted to see just what the perfect image of _right_ and _good_ was. No one had really, truly _seen_ , however. Draco had stood back and watched, and waited. It had not been a calculated thing, this relationship, as so many other things in Draco's life were. In fact, it had been seven years in the making.

Everyone had wanted a piece of Harry, Draco included. And _how_ he had wanted! There had been nights when he had laid in bed and just stared at the ceiling, images of Harry running through his mind. His entire body had _ached_ with it. There was an untouchable quality to Harry's public persona, however.

And a persona was all it had turned out to be. Something to present to the press so they could take pictures of him and post them for everyone to see, so they could claim to have 'known' Harry Potter. In private, there was a darkness to Harry, however. Not Dark, in the same way Draco had been raised. Beneath the public façade, there was occasionally a strong sense of doom that surrounded Harry. It was such a stark contrast to the happy, lively person Harry was in public that Draco hadn't believed that it existed when he had first encountered it. He supposed it came along with the way Harry had been raised, combined with the fact that he had spent much of his youth fighting for his survival. Pushing back from his desk, he let out a soft sigh.

"Harry?"

The bright smile Harry offered up still sent Draco's heart fluttering in his chest, even after all these years. Moving off to the doorway, he reached out and brushed his fingers lightly over Harry's cheekbone. He smiled when Harry lent into the touch.

"The kids are all here. They're waiting for you downstairs."

Leaning in for a soft kiss, Draco hummed. "I'll be right down."

He turned back to the library when Harry left, his eyes scanning the glass cases. This monument to his family's history had been unchanged for many long years now. Thirty-three, in fact. Waving his wand, he made absolutely certain that all the cases were locked, and that everything was in its proper place. Harry wasn't the only one with a dark side to him. That didn't mean that it had to be passed to the next generation, however.


End file.
